San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee Dies Unexpectedly

Less than a week after approving citywide recreational cannabis rules, San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee passed away unexpectedly at the age of 65 in the early hours of December 12. Lee suffered a heart attack while shopping at a grocery store.

“It is with profound sadness and terrible grief that we confirm that Mayor Edwin M. Lee passed away,” officials said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Anita, his two daughters, Brianna and Tania, and his family.”

Lee was declared dead on Tuesday at 1:11 a.m. at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital with friends and family by his side. “(Lee’s wife) Anita sent him to do his family chores,” Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown told CBS News. “He never moved away from being a husband and a father as a mayor.” According to Brown, Lee was shopping at the Diamond Heights Safeway when he suffered a heart attack at around 10:30 p.m.

Lee was the first Asian-American to be elected as mayor of San Francisco. He told the New York Times that he was drawn to San Francisco due to its “opening, welcoming atmosphere.” Lee replaced Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom as Mayor of San Francisco on January 11, 2011. Lee won the election in November 2011 and again in 2015.

As one of Lee’s last acts as mayor, he signed legislation enabling the sale of adult-use cannabis in San Francisco. Although the city won’t be ready for recreational sales on New Year’s Day, businesses will only have to wait five days until January 6, so long as they are licensed locally and by the state.

Board of Supervisors President London Breed automatically succeeded Lee to become acting mayor, per San Francisco’s city charter succession rules. That makes Breed the first black woman to hold the office of mayor of San Francisco.